Seniors Eyeing O'Dome Dates Deep Into December

Caroline Knop (#6), Carli Snyder (#4) and Rhamat Alhassan (far right) are three of the five seniors being honored Sunday.

Seniors Eyeing O'Dome Dates Deep Into December

Thursday, November 9, 2017 | Volleyball, Chris Harry

Gators will honor their five seniors before Sunday's home match against Missouri.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When the Florida volleyball team, ranked No. 1 at the time, lost its first match of the season, the Gators put themselves on a deadline to correct the issues that allowed Southeastern Conference rival Kentucky to come to rowdy Exactech Arena and exit with a victory.

"Seventeen days," senior libero Caroline Knop said. "We talked about a 17-day segment."

That's because 17 days later, UF had a rematch with UK on the road. So in those 17 days, Coach Mary Wise put extra emphasis, among other things, on defending the right side and blocking the left side, all the while navigating victoriously through four league matches before making the trip to Lexington.

Florida went to Kentucky and swept the Wildcats 3-0 on Nov. 1, as the Gators played one of their most complete matches of the season against a top-10 opponent. The outcome pulled UF back into a tie with UK at the top of the SEC standings. Just as pivotal, it gave the Gators some high-end brownie points as far as the Ratings Percentage Index numbers used to seed the NCAA Tournament, with the hope of, in time, earning one of the field's four No. 1 seeds and the right to play the first four rounds at home.

"We want to play in front of our fans at the O'Dome. We feel like we owe them that and want to give them that," senior middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan said. "For me, I know how much I step outside myself and look into the stands and really appreciate that they're there and supporting us."

The feeling is mutual, of course, and figures to be reciprocated at an even higher level this weekend. The fourth-ranked Gators (20-1, 12-1) are home Friday night against Arkansas (17-8, 7-6), then back on the O'Dome floor Sunday afternoon against Missouri (17-9, 10-3) for a senior day celebration that will honor Alhassan, Knop, outside hitters Carli Snyder and Shainah Joseph, as well as defensive specialist Lindsey Rogers.

Each has their own individual story, of course, but uniquely all five hail from different states (or in Joseph's case, a different Canadian province). For each, though, the time surely has flown by.

Their coach will vouch for that.

"The best part is seeing the girls that arrive here mature and become the adult women they'll be the rest of their lives," Wise said. "We get to witness that change … and hopefully play a part in it."

Especially when it comes to making memories.

Additionally, the 2017 Gators, one of the best teams of Wise's wildly successful 27 seasons, have a chance to make history. The goal is to raise the biggest trophy of all at the end of the season, and a focused run through the final five matches of the regular season will give Florida the best chance to do that.

Florida wants to be home throughout NCAA play, so stacking wins (and RPI points) is paramount, especially given that the Big Ten occupied the top three spots in the NCAA volleyball selection committee's ranking on Nov. 1 — Penn State, Minnesota and Nebraska are 1-3, respectively — with No. 4 Stanford and No. 7 Texas also in contention for a top-four seed, pending results down the stretch.

To date, UF has done its part in both won-loss record and resume. The Gators took on an ambitious non-league schedule this season, beating Texas and Nebraska in their first two matches of the year, then tallied wins over ranked foes North Carolina (No. 16 at the time), Florida State (19), and Kentucky (6). A match with Michigan State (ranked No. 21 at the time, but now up to No. 8) was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. That one, regardless of the outcome, would have padded UF's postseason profile.

"They take injuries into consideration when seeding the tournament, so I hope they'll take hurricanes into consideration, as well," Wise said. "There's no guarantee we'd have beaten Michigan State, but we did schedule them."

Wise, though, is far more locked in on what the Gators can control; as in what remains on her schedule. After the Razorbacks and Tigers come calling, UF is at Texas A&M on Wednesday, home one week later to Auburn, then wraps the regular season Nov. 25 at Mizzou.

The NCAA Tournament begins Nov. 30

After Senior Day, the Gators will have 17 days to get where they want to be. Sound familiar?

"That last 17-day segment [after Kentucky], we got exponentially better," Knop said. "How do we get better and accomplish what we need without playing a team the caliber of Kentucky along the way? That's hard in the SEC, whereas in the Big Ten and Pac-12 they're playing Sweet 16- and Elite Eight-caliber teams every weekend. We don't have that luxury."

Knop pointed to the practice court.

"So we'll create that environment in here. If we channel that focus on us, the way we all know we can, we'll be a really tough out in the postseason."